I’m not generally a fan of frozen treats. I have very sensitive teeth and the coldness of ice creams, sorbets, and popsicles is usually rather painful.

There are a few notable exceptions. For some reason frozen custard doesn’t bother me, nor did some of the most amazing pistachio gelato last year in Florence. Perhaps it’s the fat content or the method of churning – I’m unsure.

Then there are frozen treats that are so incredibly delicious that I don’t care if they hurt my teeth, I just eat them slowly and carefully. This sorbet is one of those treats.

It’s like a frozen mimosa exploding in your mouth. Which, to me, sounds like bliss. The recipe is from David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop, which is, in my opinion, the definitive recipe book on ice creams and frozen delights.

So far I’ve made a few different things from it. I was pretty “meh” about the Watermelon Sorbetto, but the husband loved it. I adapted the Lemon Sorbet recipe to suit some fresh grapefruits sent lovingly from an aunt in Florida for Christmas, but it was pretty underwhelming – but the husband loved it. In fact, I think he ate the entire batch in about 3 days.

I’ve got a bunch of other recipes on my to-do list: Mojito Granita, Olive Oil Ice Cream, Orange-Szechuan Peppercorn Ice Cream, Rice Ice Cream…

This Grapefruit-Champagne sorbet, however, has rocked my world. The flavor of the wine is prevalent, so be warned. This probably isn’t appropriate for children or non-drinkers. The husband doesn’t drink alcohol, but he found the strong champagne flavor to be “un-offensive,” as he put it. I, on the other hand, want to take the entire container of sorbet, back myself into a corner, and growl at anyone who comes near.

Make this. Then don’t share it with your friends.

Grapefruit-Champagne Sorbet

from The Perfect Scoop

1 1/3 cups Champagne or other sparkling white wine

1 cup sugar

2 ½ cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, heat about half the champagne with the sugar, stirring frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, stir in the remaining champagne and the grapefruit juice.

Chill the mixture thoroughly and freeze it according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

*Notes: I didn’t use a saucepan, I microwaved half the champagne and the sugar in a large glass measuring cup a minute at a time until the sugar dissolved, stirring every 30 seconds. Then I chilled the champagne-sugar mixture, as well as the rest of the wine and the grapefruit juice. I combined them all once chilled and then put it in my ice cream maker. This worked perfectly for me and it seemed a lot easier than using the stovetop. It’s up to you.

I remember my mother making white beans and ham anytime there was a leftover ham hock from a holiday meal. That soup had a stick-to-your-ribs level of heartiness that has remained unmatched, in my eyes, to this day. She’d simmer a pot of Great Northern white beans with the ham hock until the beans had gotten all creamy and thick; little bits of ham dotted throughout. She’d serve it with cornbread and we’d all gobble it down. My dad recently lamented (7 years post-divorce) that he still hadn’t been able to get it replicated in his own kitchen.

I will admit that it may be an acquired taste for some. It literally consisted of nothing besides a ham hock, beans, salt and water. While I appreciate the simplicity of the dish – and no one can deny how filling and economical it was for feeding a family of 5 on a budget – I wanted to add some more vegetables into my version. I’m trying to limit my meat consumption as much as possible while adding in as many vegetables as I can, in an effort to finally meet those 5 or more servings per day recommendations. Plus, adding a mirepoix isn’t that expensive and adds a ton of flavor and nutrients into the finished soup.

I had a ham hock left over from Christmas dinner, from the ham I bought from Copper Penny Farm. It was a beauteous thing, marbled with fat and loaded with flavor. It’s easy to forget how delicious ham is when it comes from a pig that’s raised properly and isn’t one of those commercially hybridized, Smithfield-patented abominations with a 2% fat content. Seriously, check out LocalHarvest.org and find where you can get a locally grown ham for your next holiday meal. It’s worth it.

A few weeks ago I bought a couple bags of pistachios while they were on sale. While I’m a fan of the salted variety for out of hand eating, I accidentally grabbed an unsalted bag as well. After I’d devoured the salted bag and was searching through my cupboards for a late-night snack, I decided that the unsalted kind had to be better than nothing at all.

While munching I noticed some particularly strong notes of vanilla. I had a few dozen batches of cookies to bake for people on the horizon, so I started thinking of ways to incorporate the unsalted green nuts into some sort of cookie – like vanilla pistachio biscotti.

I’d never made biscotti before, but had been meaning to for quite some time – perfect opportunity. Plus, since I was baking for other people I could experiment to my heart’s content and get the waistline-burgeoning results out of my house (not something I can say for the batch of cinnamon rolls I baked last night and am currently devouring).

Every recipe I came across also incorporated cranberries or chocolate, but I wasn’t interested in distracting from the nutty vanilla flavor I wanted. I eventually settled on altering one of Tyler Florence’s recipes and I think it turned out pretty well.

I wanted to amp up the vanilla flavor as much as possible, so I also used vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is one of my favorite baking secrets for sneaking some extra flavor into goodies without too much effort. Many recipes call for scraping the seeds out of a vanilla pod, but there’s still so much flavor left in there – it’d be a shame to discard it, especially considering how expensive they are. Instead, fill up a jar with sugar and stick the “spent” pods in there. Over time it will perfume the sugar with a lovely, subtle vanilla flavor. I just use an old spaghetti sauce jar (that’s been thoroughly cleaned, of course) and refill it with sugar every time I use some.

If you don’t have vanilla sugar then just use regular, I can guarantee the biscotti will still be delicious.

I’m a big fan of King Arthur Flour for a number of reasons, not least of the which is that any recipes they provide are reliable, tested items. It’s kind of like getting a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated – you know that a real, live actual person has tested the recipes and – more likely than not – they’re going to work.

That being said, I’m usually too lazy to make bread anymore because I’ve been so busy with school the last few years (graduate this week!). Their cookies and quick breads, however, are usually pretty easy to whip up.

I also try to avoid baking cookies too often, really just out of sympathy for my poor bathroom scale and the seams in my jeans, but around Christmastime calories only count for half – or so I’m inclined to believe. These cookies, as far as cookies go at least, are relatively healthy. There's zero fat and they're not terribly caloric.

Last year I went on an all-out cookie bonanza for my father-in-law’s company Christmas party – sugar and gingerbread cookies painstakingly decorated by hand along with chocolate-peppermint cream whoopee pies.

It was exhausting.

This year I wanted cookies that were at least relatively easy to put together, while still making me look like a culinary badass. These, my fine Internet friends, are it. They take about 60 seconds to put together and about 12 minutes to bake, but they look like they involved all sorts of complicated things like whipping and folding and magical chocolatey fairies. But no, a 5-year old could do it. Literally.

So make like a 5-year old, throw these together, and let your office holiday partygoers revel in your awesomeness.

KAF’s Flourless Fudge Cookies

Yields about 2 dozen 2 inch cookies

(I prefer to bake by weight, click here to go to the original recipe at KAF with weight measurements)

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional but good

1 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process

3 large egg whites

2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Or line with parchment, and grease the parchment.

2) Stir together all of the ingredients till smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and stir again till smooth.

3) Drop the soft, batter-like dough onto the prepared baking sheets in 1/2" circles; a two teaspoon cookie scoop works well here.

4) Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes; they should spread, become somewhat shiny, and develop faintly crackly tops.

5) Remove the cookies from the oven, and allow them to cool right on the pan.

I had another lovely ham steak from Copper Penny Farm languishing in my freezer and couldn’t decide what to do with it. I had the sudden epiphany that it would be great with sweet potato the other day while planning my weekly dinner menu, and found this recipe over at Epicurious. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was close enough to get me started.

I was happy at how quickly this came together – from start to eating within 30 minutes – which makes it perfect for a weekend brunch item. Use a nice heavy bottom skillet for this to get a nice brown on the sweet potatoes while they’re cooking on their own – just make sure you have a lid that more or less fits to get the steaming action you need to cook them through.

Also, if you can’t find baby pea shoots, feel free to substitute any other delicate greenery like watercress, mâche, or arugula. And take it easy on the salt on this dish – between the salty ham and the salted butter I used I didn’t feel the need for any additional seasoning at all.

Ham and Sweet Potato Hash with Over-Easy Eggs and Baby Pea Shoots

Yields about 4 servings

2 tablespoons butter

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes (about 2 cups)

½ yellow onion, chopped

1 lb ham steak, cubed

2 cups baby pea shoots

4 eggs, cooked over easy

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and add the sweet potatoes. Toss to coat and then cover with a lid, cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. When the sweet potato is almost done add the onions and ham and cook for a further 3-4 minutes – until onion is translucent and ham is heated through. Add the baby pea shoots and wilt. Divide into four portions and serve immediately with over-easy eggs on top.

In my quest to eat more consciously – both for myself and for the environment – I’ve attempted to relegate meat to a mere seasoning in most dishes, rather than a main component. Moving a bit down the food chain is both good for health and exerts less stress on the planet.

That does not, however, mean that food must be tasteless and bland. Just as many people recommend buying more expensive, flavorful cheeses and using them in moderation rather than using copious amounts of the near tasteless cheap stuff, such is the case with meals like this. Most people can agree that bacon is the wunderkind of meats – if it can turn hardcore veggies back to meat, it’s good in my book.

Here I’ve taken farro (or wheat berries, depending on where you live) and French green lentils and topped them with braised mustard and turnip greens, bacon, and mushrooms. It takes some nutritional powerhouses and gussies them up with the luscious fattiness we crave. I’m almost positive that my heart won’t take issue with the bacon fat once it realizes it’s coating super-healthy greens…right?

Even for those who aren’t fans of greens in general (which is a travesty, FYI), this dish is sure to please with the big chunks of bacon and flavorful mushrooms. If you’re not too keen on the toothsome farro (much like my husband is not) just boil it for about 5 minutes before you add the lentils to the pot of salted water.

Farro and Lentils with Braised Greens and Bacon

½ cup farro

½ cup French green lentils (Lentils du Puy)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

4 slices thick cut bacon, cut into chunks

16 oz chopped mustard and turnip greens, chopped into bite size pieces (in your produce section)

8 oz sliced mushrooms

Shaved Parmigiana Reggiano for garnish (optional)

Combine the farro, lentils, and garlic cloves in a pot and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on doneness desired.

Meanwhile, brown the bacon in a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat until most of the fat is rendered. Add the greens and cook for a few minutes (you might have to add in batches to get them to fit). Cover the pan and let cook for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until done to taste.

Drain the farro and lentils, discarding the garlic cloves. Top with the greens and mushrooms and shave some cheese to garnish if desired.

“Eat Local.”

It’s a brilliant concept, but much harder to execute than most realize. Unless you’re living in the year-round salad-bowl that is Central California, it can be incredibly difficult to find a large enough variety of all local foods to satisfy even the most one-dimensional of palates.

Summer makes it much easier. There’s a bounty of produce and goodies available in almost every corner of the country. But it can still be pretty hard to find stuff that you actually want to eat.

I recently moved a little bit farther west in Maryland, about halfway between the District and Baltimore (Which is offering much more in the way of interest than I ever thought possible – urban foraging classes, anyone? Yes, please.). Here I’ve found local farms galore. The farmer’s markets are a little few and far between, but what they do offer is enough to keep me going.

I stumbled across Copper Penny Farm on Local Harvest about two weeks ago. I went out to meet the owners, Nancy and Chuck, and was positively delighted at the operation they’ve got going. It’s a small venture, but I look forward to supporting them as much as my little family of two possible can in the coming years. That gorgeous ham-steak in the picture above is compliments of one of their Large Blacks.

They sent me out to the Briggs-Chaney farmers market in Silver Spring. It’s small, but it has just about everything one needs from a farmers market. If they were to add a bread stand and an eggs/dairy stand I wouldn’t even need to go to the grocery store but for commodity goods. I found Knopp’s Farm from Severn, MD there – and they produce some of the most divine corn one could imagine.

So we sat down to dinner tonight and ate an almost entirely local meal. Ham from Copper Penny Farm, corn and tomatoes from Knopp’s Farm, whole grain mustard from a Mennonite community in Southern Pennsylvania – the only store-bought ingredient was the rice vinegar.

And it was amazing.

Eating local might take a bit more effort, but once you taste the difference and feel the pride of supporting local business you’ll probably never go back.

Go check out Local Harvest to see how you can get started in your own community.

Grilled Ham Steak with Corn-Tomato Relish

2 Ham Steaks

1 ear of fresh sweet corn, cut from the cob

Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

Grill the ham steaks, either on a grill or in a heavy-bottomed pan like cast iron. Meanwhile, toss the corn, tomatoes, rice vinegar, and mustard together in a bowl. Top the grilled steaks with the relish.

My favorite thing about spring and summer is the farmer’s markets. I’ve loved them ever since I was a little kid, begging my mother to take me the waterfront market in my hometown.

I was enamored with the flowers – dinnerplate Dahlias that were easily the size of my head, the crafts – beads and bits and bobs and amazing wood carvings from the local tribes, and the food, oh lordy the food – vegetables in every shape and size and color, more than the mind could process at once.

I still have that sense of giddy excitement when I walk through a market, myriad possibilities running through my brain, challenging me to create and experiment. The opportunity to talk with the people who are growing my food, to interact with the people in my community – it’s bliss. Pure and simple bliss.

While walking through a farmer’s market recently (or possibly three…) I spotted these gorgeous globular summer squash that were just begging to be stuffed. They make a beautiful side dish or, if you get them just a bit bigger than this, a lovely main course along with a salad.

Stuffed Summer Squash

4 globe summer squash

8 oz. Shitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups cooked brown rice

4 oz Taleggio cheese, cubed

Preheat the oven to 425⁰

Slice off the tops of the squash and scoop out the center of the squash. Rub them down inside and out with a little olive oil and season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a heavy bottomed skillet sauté the shitake mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the brown rice and cook just long enough to warm through. Remove the mixture from the skillet into a heat proof mixing bowl and toss with the cubed Taleggio cheese (you can do this in the skillet, but it might get a little messy). Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Divide evenly between the 4 squash. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet (or in a casserole dish) for about 30-35 minutes, or until squash is tender.

Sour cherries are an elusive fruit. They grow only in a few areas in the country, are impossible to find in a grocery store (fresh, at least), and even at a farmer’s market one would be lucky to find them more than one or two weeks out of the year.

If you do happen to find them, though – buy them. A lot of them. Don’t tell your friends. Don’t tell your family. Don’t even tell your neighbor’s dog. Keep them all for yourself and make this galette.

Galette is just a French word for “we’re too lazy to make two crusts and call it a pie.” It all comes together in about an hour, which is only a little bit longer than it will take you to devour this entire tart.

Sweet-tart cherries, flaky, buttery pastry – it’s a match made in heaven. Add a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side if you’re so inclined.

I prefer to eat mine directly out of hand, eyes closed in bliss, pastry crumbs dropping all around me. It’s the only civilized way.

Sour Cherry Galette

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, chilled, cut into cubes

¼ cup cold water

1 quart (about 4 cups) sour cherries, pitted

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

Preheat the oven to 400⁰F

Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together. Work the cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers, until like small crumbs. Add the ice water and mix until it becomes a soft dough, adding more cold water if needed. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the pitted cherries in the sugar and cornstarch, let sit for at least 15 minutes. Roll out the pastry dough until about 1/8^th inch thick. Mound the cherries in the center, leaving at least a two inch border. Wrap the pastry edges around the cherries, pleating the dough where needed. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and cherries are cooked through. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

While I was in North Carolina recently, a friend of mine reintroduced to me to the wonder that is cold spinach dip. Between the two of us we polished off nearly a whole container along with some pita chips and more wine than two people should ever consume in one evening.

After returning to Maryland I was still craving it, but wasn’t interested in all of the preservatives in the store bought dips. A little tinkering and I had exactly what I wanted. Make sure you really get all of that liquid out of the spinach or sauté some fresh. You’ll have a gross, soggy mess on your hands if you don’t.

Also, use the flat of your knife to turn the minced garlic and the salt into a paste, it will incorporate much more thoroughly and you won’t run the change of biting into a hunk of raw garlic. Just mince the garlic, sprinkle the salt over it, and scrape the salt into the garlic with the flat of the blade. It’ll turn into a paste after about 15 seconds of scraping.

Sadly, the bad news is that making this dip means you will eat it. All of it. Possibly in one sitting.

Spinach Dip

1 cup light mayonnaise

1 cup light sour cream

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed of all excess liquid, and chopped

½ cup water chestnuts, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

Kosher salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.